Sitting is the new smoking (EP5)

Every soft drink is a bullet to your brain! (EP6)

Welcome to my podcast, ‘Healing with Dr Helena’, where I challenge the limiting way we currently view disease, and offer a new paradigm for vibrant health and true healing. If modern medicine isn’t providing you with enough answers, and you want to come alive and thrive, rather than merely survive, this podcast is for you. Here’s a glimpse of episode 6.  * * * * * Today’s Brain Booster is: Skip the sugary sip — because every soft drink is a bullet to your brain! A landmark study found that people who regularly consumed sugary drinks — including soft drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks, sweetened tea and fruit juices — had smaller brain volumes and scored worse in tests of recent memory.  A large review of US adults aged 60 years and older showed that increased consumption of the above-listed beverages was significantly linked to worsening cognitive function.  And an investigation of more than 177 000 UK residents who were followed for an average of nine and a half years revealed that those who drank two or more soft drinks a day had a significantly higher risk of developing dementia — whether or not they carried genes that increased their risk of Alzheimer’s. In other words, having good genes does not protect you from dementia if you drink sugary drinks.  So the message is clear: the more you drink, the more you shrink your brain and its ability to function.  But how do sugary drinks cause so much havoc to our brain? That’s what today’s Brain Booster is all about.  * * * * * Today’s Health Headline is: Soft drinks are the new cigarettes. In podcast 5, I said that sitting was the new smoking. And it is. But equally so, soft drinks are the new cigarettes. Is there a safe level of cigarette smoking? No. Smoking just ONE cigarette a day increases the risk of having a heart attack or stroke.  A similar scenario plays out for soft drinks. There is no safe level of soft drink consumption. The problem, however, is that there are no anti-soft drink campaigns or public health initiatives to encourage people to quit soft drinks because the general attitude to soft drinks is back where we were with cigarettes in the 1950s. Today’s Health Headline explores the lessons we can learn from dealing with cigarettes, and how we can apply those principles to soft drinks.  * * * * * What’s missing from modern medicine is the guts to stand up to the soft drink industry.  Much like cigarettes half a century ago, soft drinks have enjoyed decades of social acceptance while quietly contributing to all chronic diseases. And while there are scientists and public-health advocates arguing that sugary drinks warrant similar regulation to cigarettes, their voices aren’t loud enough.  Why aren’t the hazards of soft drinks taught in every school in every country in the world? Why aren’t soft drink vending machines banned from educational institutions, work places and fitness centres? Why aren’t there soft drink public education campaigns, warning labels, taxes and stricter marketing controls — especially in relation to young people? * * * * * And today’s Whether Report addresses the following dilemma: Can you please tell me whether fruit juice is healthy or not? I keep seeing contradictory messages about fruit juice. One minute I’m told to go on a juice cleanse, and the next minute I hear that fruit juice has too much sugar and I shouldn’t drink it at all. Also can you tell me whether squeezing my own fruit at home is healthier than buying ready-made juice from the grocery store? And finally, please tell me whether using a blender or NutriBullet to make a smoothie is healthier than simply drinking juice. * * * * * Please subscribe to my podcast so that you don’t miss an episode, and email your whether questions to: podcast@drhelenapopovic.com [podcast@drhelenapopovic.com?subject=Question%20for%20Podcast%3A%20Healing%20with%20Dr%20Helena] For resources visit: www.drhelenapopovic.com/podcast

Sitting is the new smoking (EP5)

Welcome to my podcast, ‘Healing with Dr Helena’, where I challenge the limiting way we currently view disease, and offer a new paradigm for vibrant health and true healing. If modern medicine isn’t providing you with enough answers, and you want to come alive and thrive, rather than merely survive, this podcast is for you. It’s also for people who want to boost their brain to perform at their peak, avoid Alzheimer’s and other dementias, and live longer, stronger, healthier and happier.  Each episode comprises four parts: 1. A Brain Booster 2. A Health Headline 3. An Exploration of What’s Missing from Modern Medicine 4. A Whether Report where I answer your whether questions eg ‘I’d like to know whether you can explain how …’ Here’s a glimpse of episode 5.  Today’s Health Headline is: Sitting is the new smoking — literally! I know we usually start with a Brain Booster but for today’s Brain Booster to make sense we have to dive into the Health Headline first. Now I suspect this is not the first time you’ve heard the statement that sitting is the new smoking. But have you stopped to reflect on what it actually means? Or do you think it doesn’t apply to you because you go to the gym every day?  Imagine you own a smooth-running car with a powerful engine, beautifully polished body, and not a scratch on its shiny coat. And every morning you take it on a short spin around the block. But for the rest of the day, the car just sits in your garage. Day after day. Eventually, what happens?  The tyres develop flat spots, the battery weakens, and parts begin to seize — not because it wasn’t driven at all, but because it wasn’t driven enough. It sat around in the garage for too many hours a day. Our bodies work like that car. How many hours did you spend sitting yesterday — in the car, at your desk, on the sofa, at the dinner table? For a lot of people, when you add up the hours, the time they spend sitting is shockingly high — sometimes 10 to 12 hours a day. And here’s the most alarming piece of news: People who sit for more than 11 hours a day have a 40% increased risk of early death from heart disease, stroke, cancer, dementia and complications of type 2 diabetes, compared with people who sit for less than four hours a day. Meanwhile, people who sit for more than eight hours a day have a 15% increased risk of early death. So there’s a dose-dependent effect.  And sitting for more than 8 hours a day confers health risks comparable to smoking a packet of cigarettes every day — especially for cardiovascular disease.  Sitting really is the new smoking — literally, not just figuratively. Tune in to find out why. * * * * * Following on from today’s Health Headline, your Brain Booster is:  Quit the sit — and stand up for your brain!  Don’t leave your brain in the care of your chair! A study published in the journal Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy in 2020 found that when 70-plus-year-olds sat for 3 uninterrupted hours, their blood pressure went up, and there were changes in their blood vessels that made it harder for blood to circulate through their brain. This is known as ‘increased cerebrovascular resistance', and it means that it’s harder for blood to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the brain. Not good. So your call to action is: move to improve every aspect of your health, including your brain. * * * * * So what’s missing from modern medicine? A public health campaign titled:  Beware the Chair!  Rise to the Occasion!  Stand to Attention!  Stand up for Yourself!  What’s missing from modern medicine are posters with slogans encouraging movement in every doctor’s waiting room, hospital corridor, retirement village, school classroom, office, library and bus stop. * * * * * And today’s Whether Report answers the question: Can you tell me whether varicose veins increase the risk of dementia? Please subscribe to my podcast or YouTube channel so that you don’t miss an episode, and email your whether questions to: podcast@drhelenapopovic.com [podcast@drhelenapopovic.com?subject=Question%20for%20Podcast%3A%20Healing%20with%20Dr%20Helena]

A laugh a day keeps dementia at bay! (EP4)

Welcome to my podcast, ‘Healing with Dr Helena’, where I challenge the limiting way we currently view disease, and offer a new paradigm for vibrant health and true healing. If modern medicine isn’t providing you with enough answers, and you want to come alive and thrive, rather than merely survive, this podcast is for you. It’s also for people who want to boost their brain to perform at their peak, avoid Alzheimer’s and other dementias, and live longer, stronger, healthier and happier.  Each episode comprises four parts: 1. A Brain Booster 2. A Health Headline 3. An Exploration of What’s Missing from Modern Medicine 4. A Whether Report where I answer your whether questions eg ‘I’d like to know whether you can explain how …’ Here’s a glimpse of episode 4.  Today’s Brain Booster is: a laugh a day keeps dementia at bay! Welcome to the science of gelotology — the study of laughter and its physical and psychological effects. Why is it called gelotology? Because it comes from the Greek ‘gelos' meaning laughter. And it turns out that laughter — whether spontaneous, social, or even ‘prescribed’ via laughter therapy (called gelototherapy) — can: * Improve mood — no surprise * Reduce stress, anxiety and depression — also not surprising * Build psychological resilience so you recover from setbacks more quickly  * Lower blood pressure * Strengthen your immune system  * And support brain health! Tune in to hear about the fascinating studies on laughter, and how laughter can even reduce disability! * * * * * Today’s Health Headline is: Great health is not a distant destination. It’s a daily decision. In the previous podcast I introduced you to the concept of TRUE MEDICINES — an acronym for the foundations and fundamental principles of great health and healing.  So how do you start implementing TRUE MEDICINES and embark on the adventure of true healing? Whether you’ve received a diagnosis of a major or minor illness, or you want to improve your overall health, go through each letter of the acronym and see how it applies to you. The first two letters, T and R, belong together because they stand for Take Responsibility. And today, we get to grips with what Taking Responsibility really means. * * * * * What’s missing from modern medicine is the recognition that we are spiritual beings in a physical body.  This isn’t as unscientific as it sounds. Spirituality is not a belief, a religion, or the practice of a particular faith. Spirituality is the perception that you are more than your physical body, and you’re connected to something greater than yourself. Spirituality is the sense that you have access to power that is beyond what we can currently measure in the physical realm.  Research shows that feeling in some way connected to a Universal Life Force, a Higher Power, something beyond the physical — beyond what our five senses can perceive — correlates with better outcomes for people diagnosed with serious illnesses.  * * * * * And today’s Whether Report addresses the question: ‘I wonder whether you aren’t giving people false hope? There are many diseases, especially psychiatric and neurological ones, like schizophrenia, MS, dementia and Parkinson’s that are not curable. Maybe one day they will be, but for now, they can only be managed with lifelong medication and psychotherapy. With consistent treatment, I know many people can manage their symptoms, reduce relapses, and lead productive lives, but you seem to be suggesting that we can cure these conditions. I wonder whether this isn’t an unrealistic message? * * * * * Please subscribe to my podcast or YouTube channel so that you don’t miss an episode, and email your whether questions to: podcast@drhelenapopovic.com [podcast@drhelenapopovic.com?subject=Question%20for%20Podcast%3A%20Healing%20with%20Dr%20Helena]  If you’re happy for me to play your voice on my podcast, you can provide an audio file. Otherwise, you can type your question for me to read out. I very much look forward to answering your questions and exploring how we can all build a smarter brain, stronger body and deeply fulfilling life.

The language of medicine is making us sick (EP3)

Welcome to my podcast, ‘Healing with Dr Helena’, where I challenge the limiting way we currently view disease, and offer a new paradigm for vibrant health and true healing. If modern medicine isn’t providing you with enough answers, and you want to come alive and thrive, rather than merely survive, this podcast is for you. It’s also for people who want to boost their brain to perform at their peak, avoid Alzheimer’s and other dementias, and live longer, stronger, healthier and happier.  Each episode comprises four parts: 1. A Brain Booster 2. A Health Headline 3. An Exploration of What’s Missing from Modern Medicine 4. A Whether Report where I answer your whether questions eg ‘I’d like to know whether you can explain how …’ So here’s a snapshot of episode 3.  Today’s Brain Booster is to get a Can Do Jar instead of a candy jar. Get a large glass or ceramic jar and label it ‘Can Do Jar’. From now on, whenever you, or anyone in your household, says the word ‘can’t’, they’ll have to put a gold coin in the jar. When the jar becomes full of money — which hopefully it won’t — donate the money to your favourite charity. Your Can Do Jar will be your visual reminder of the power of language and labelling.  Can the way we speak to ourselves boost the functioning of our brain? Absolutely! The words and grammar we use to describe ourselves and our world, modify how our brain works, how we see our own possibilities, and how we act in the world.  Negative self-talk: * Decreases brain connections related to confidence and reward * Reduces motivation * And harms mental health Negative self-talk also triggers the release of the stress hormone cortisol, which damages cells in a region of the brain called the hippocampus. Since the hippocampus is our learning and memory warehouse, cortisol erodes our ability to think clearly and retrieve memories, so it turns the negative self talk into a self fulfilling prophecy. Language is more than a neutral medium for describing ourselves and our experiences; it shapes them.  Today’s Health Headline is: the language of medicine is making us sick!  Have you ever noticed that the language of medicine is actually the language of war? Modern medicine wants to: Fight the infection! Kill the virus!  Eradicate the invaders – meaning bacteria and viruses Irradiate the tumour Cut out the cancer Defeat the disease and wage war on obesity! In medical speak, drugs and various therapies are referred to as armamentarium and you must follow doctor’s orders!  This is major warfare we’re talking. What’s wrong with this approach? Everything. Tune in to find out why. What’s missing from modern medicine is an understanding of what constitutes TRUE MEDICINES. And what are TRUE MEDICINES? TRUE MEDICINES is an acronym for the foundations and fundamental principles of great health and healing.  The letters T-R-U and E give you the foundations.  The letters M-E-D-I-C-I-N-E-S give you the fundamental principles of great health and healing. In other words, each letter in MEDICINES reveals an essential ingredient for boosting your brain, enhancing your immune system, and living longer, stronger and happier. Today I’ll run through what each letter stands for and give you a brief explanation. Going forward with this podcast, we’ll explore each principle in greater depth.  And today’s Whether Report addresses the question: ‘I recently learned that dementia was the leading cause of death in Australia. I’d like to know whether you can explain how someone dies from dementia. I thought dementia was largely about memory loss and thinking ability.’ Please subscribe to my podcast or YouTube channel so that you don’t miss an episode, and email your whether questions to: podcast@drhelenapopovic.com [podcast@drhelenapopovic.com?subject=Question%20for%20Podcast%3A%20Healing%20with%20Dr%20Helena] If you’re happy for me to play your voice on my podcast, you can provide an audio file. Otherwise, you can type your question for me to read out.

Can a person really die of a broken heart? (EP2)

Welcome to my podcast, ‘Healing with Dr Helena’, where I challenge the limiting way we currently view disease, and offer a new paradigm for vibrant health and true healing. If modern medicine isn’t providing you with enough answers, and you want to come alive and thrive, rather than merely survive, this podcast is for you. Today’s Brain Booster is to recognise that every choice you make impacts your brain. Everything you do, everything you think, everything you believe, and everything you feel, influences the health and functioning of your brain. Your brain is, in fact, changing right now.  As you read these words, as you reflect on what they mean, as you fidget in your chair, tiny connections in your brain are forming, strengthening, or fading away. Your brain is not a predetermined, established, unalterable machine. It’s a living, transforming, adapting organ that rewires itself in response to everything you experience.  This remarkable ability of our brain to change is known as neuroplasticity.  Today’s Health Headline is: humans don’t like facing their fears — and this gets in the way of healing.  What do I mean by that?  When we encounter an illness, our immediate response is to want to stomp out the symptoms as quickly as possible. But perhaps a more valuable approach would be to pause and reflect on what our body is trying to tell us. Sometimes disease is our body calling out for rest, movement or better nutrition.  Sometimes disease is our heart calling out for forgiveness, fulfilment or deeper relationships.  And sometimes disease is our inner wisdom calling out to be heard and heeded.  And when we ask ourselves, ‘What part of me is calling out to me?’ the answer always comes. But we live such fast-paced, frantic, furious lives that we don’t hear the faint whisper of our intuition. And even if we pause for a moment — through meditation, mindfulness, a stroll in nature, or just keeping still – we don’t always want to hear the answer because it might entail us doing something we don’t want to do … What’s missing from modern medicine is recognising the need to change our inner state, not just our outer state, if we want true healing. Healing is not the same as eliminating symptoms or eradicating a disease. Surgery or chemo or radiotherapy can remove a cancer. But if a person is in the same state of being — physical, psychological or emotional — that led to the cancer, the cancer will return. Or some other disease will take its place. Maybe not immediately. Maybe not for several years. But re-emerge it will. Cancer can be life-threatening and shakes people to their core, so they often re-evaluate their lives, values and what’s truly important to them. And I’d argue that it’s the inner changes — the shift in belief systems — the re-prioritisations — the search for answers — that keep the cancer away after the surgery, chemo or radiotherapy have done their job. Physical interventions can cut out tumours and kill cancer cells but they won’t keep the them away if the same factors that brought them on are at play.  Note that this is NOT about blaming a person for their disease. The speed of our lives is inherently health-eroding. Traumas that remain buried can express themselves as bodily ill health. Distressing events hinder the functioning of our immune system. A lot of things impact our physical and mental wellbeing that we aren’t consciously aware of. So it isn’t about blaming a person for their condition. It’s about creating a safe space for all of us to explore the link between our inner and outer lives. That’s the start of true healing. And today’s Whether Report answers the question: Whether you can really die of a broken heart?  Please subscribe to my podcast or YouTube channel so that you don’t miss an episode, and send your whether questions to: podcast@drhelenapopovic.com [podcast@drhelenapopovic.com?subject=Question%20for%20Podcast%3A%20Healing%20with%20Dr%20Helena] If you’re happy for me to play your voice on my podcast, you can provide an audio file. Otherwise, you can type your question for me to read out.